PATIALA, Punjab—The Dookh Nivaran Gurdwara Sahib of Patiala will be holding a special smagam on the 23rd of January to honor the memory of the scholarly Sikh, Akali Kaur Singh. Ragis and Dhadis will perform Kirtan and sing ballads from the life of the historical Sikh figure of the early 1900s.
Also known as, Akali Kaur Singh Nihang, he was of village Paddhar, Chakar, in occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan. His lineage is from the descendants of the Brahmins (Triloknath) who came to Guru Tegh Bahadur to help save them from prosecution from Mughals.
Kaur Singh studied Sikh scriptural texts and used to take part in debates against Arya Samaj (extreme Hindu conversion groups) who tried to ‘Hindufy’ the Sikh faith and followers through disseminating doubt and ritualistic practices. He was later ordained the title of Nihang and renamed as Kaur singh at Hazoor Sahib, Nanded.
He worked on alphabetical index of Guru Granth Sahib in 1907, and completed it in 1920. In March 1923, it was published under title Guru Shabad Ratan Prakash/Tuk Tatkara and also worked on an index of Bhai Gurdas’s work in 1929.
